"Cheers to the man who's going off the market!" Miguel yelled on top of his voice in excitement and ordered Rex to open another bottle of wine.
Rex glanced at his watch and replied, "No more alcohol; keep your eyes on the road."
Miguel ignored him, searching for the wine bottle, "Brother-in-law, today is your wedding day, and you are supposed to get drunk."
"Hey, pay attention on the road!" Rex scolded him. "I think you ought to stop and let me take the wheel."
Miguel scowled, "No way."
His eyes were still in the car but kept darting back and forth on the road ahead, "My sister is going to kill me if I let you drive on your wedding day," he said.
"Be careful!" Rex yelled, but by the time Miguel turned to look back on the road, it was too late.
A young boy was crossing the street, and in an attempt to avoid him, the car veered to the left and struck an old woman who was standing by the side of the road.
As a result, the vehicle underwent two complete flips before coming to a stop on its side.
Everything came to a stop as Rex opened his eyes to the sounds of screams and cries for rescue. He could feel his head ringing and felt blood dripping down his face. Everything happened so fast in flip seconds.
However, he needed to get out of the vehicle. Despite his efforts, the door was jammed. When he turned to glance around, Miguel was nowhere in sight.
"Miguel?" He called out. "Miguel, are you okay?"
Outside, Miguel stood in front of the car, his eyes darting around as if possessed.
As he turned to look around, he spotted the old woman lying in a pool of her own blood on the side of the road.
Fear set in as soon as some vehicles stopped on the opposite side of the road. The old woman looked dead, though he did not have the guts to check.
"Fuck!" he cursed, brushing his hands through his hair.
Inside the car, Rex attempted to exit the vehicle, but the door was jammed on his side.
He kept looking at the driver's seat but there was no sign of Miguel. With his body in agony, he wriggled to the driver's seat as a small crowd gathered around the accident scene.
"That is the driver," one of the pedestrians shouted.
Some people hurriedly assisted Rex in exiting the vehicle while some shouted and questioned why he did not stop at the pedestrian crossing.
"My brother in law…. brother-in-law" Rex kept mumbling to himself while his eyes kept darting around.
Despite his best efforts, he failed to spot Miguel and by now, a large crowd was surrounding him.
The ambulance and police officers arrived shortly after.
To his surprise, he was identified as the driver by the crowd. But before he could explain, his head felt a stinging sensation that rendered him unconscious.
When he opened his eyes, the white ceiling was staring back at him. He attempted to move, but the handcuffs that were fastened to his right hand held him back.
Confounded, he tugged on the cuff once more.
"My love, you are awake!" Rex's fiancee, Chelsea shouted, giving him a hug.
Rex sighed in relief, hearing her beautiful voice somehow calmed him down.
She let go of him and pulled back her short blond hair. He could tell that she was not wearing her wedding gown but rather regular clothes. Her blue eyes continued to flit about, dodging his gaze.
"Chelsea, what's going on? Why am I being cuffed?" He inquired.
"Relax, everything will be resolved," she said in response.
"What? What is going on Chelsea? And your brother, where is he? Is he fine, right?"
Chelsea sat down and started crying while wiping her eyes.
"Is Miguel okay?" Rex was now panicking.
He turned, his eyes darting around the room and spotted Chelsea's cousins and stepmother avoiding eye contact.
"Someone tell me what's going on!" He yelled.
Chelsea began pleading, "You have to save Miguel. He has a pending assault case and was caught for drunk driving last month."
Rex, paused for a second, trying to figure out what she was getting at.
Chelsea's cousin finally clarified, "Since you don't have any alcohol in your system, you have to tell the police you were the one driving."
Rex looked up at her as a heavy weight pressed down on his stomach. He slowly turned to face Chelsea, his mouth agape in horror.
Chelsea let out a cry, "You've got to save my brother; he's going to spend years in prison for killing that old woman."
Rex lifted his body in a sitting position oblivious to the handcuffs on his right.
"What? Did she die?" Rex gasped in horror.
Chelsea instantly clutched Rex's hand and said, "My uncle has people messing with the brakes, so it will be the car at fault and not you."She was firmly holding on to his hand as he attempted to shove her away but her grip was very tight.He continued staring at her in shock as she went on explaining and said, "The case will be a manslaughter charge, and with your clean record, the worst you can get is one year."Noticing the shocked reaction, Chelsea sobbed, "For our love, Rex, my brother is not fit for prison life and has a lot of warnings; he will get life."With all his might, Rex pushed on her, finally getting her off his hand."Where is Miguel?" he yelled.Chelsea's eyes averted and to his horror, she retorted, "At home, he's in shock and needs rest."Rex's jaw hung in shock, she wanted him to shoulder the blame for a man who could not even man up to ask for the sacrifice himself. He swallowed and asked, "Has he communicated with the police?""This is how you support our love
As she waited for the lawyer's call, Chelsea sat with her family. She kept pacing the room, her hands shaking and her heart pounding against her chest. Selena broke the tension, saying, "You should have gone to court to show your support. The love of your life just gave his life to save your crazy brother."Chelsea turned and stopped pacing around.She screamed, "Stop talking if you don't know what the word 'family' means to you!" Her phone rang, it was finally the lawyer and she answered it In a flash."Okay, thank you," and turned to face the family."They gave him five years," she announced. "That's great, better than ten years," Miguel joked and grabbed himself some wine as if the news he received was worth celebrating.Chelsea looked away, not sure how to react. Five years was a lot of years for her to wait for a man. She always wanted to get married in her twenties."So Chelsea are you back on the market?" her stepmother smiled.Chelsea glared at her and walked out of the roo
Rex gently opened his eyes to find one of the men in black gazing at him in astonishment. The other teammates turned, gazing at him too.One of them instructed, "Send a photo to the boss."Rex noticed the men trembling as one of them moved forward and took a picture of him and forwarded it to their boss.He dialed his phone, and the man laughed, saying, "He is a total photocopy."He ended the call and headed back toward his teammates.He explained, "The boss wants us to bring him in.""What… is going… on?" Rex finally found his words."On the floor!" the man who was holding him by the hair ordered.The transporting officers looked up and began protesting. "Where are you taking him? This is a convicted criminal!" one of them spoke up"Your bosses will fill you in, but this man is now government property," one of the men in black stated showing his ID. The officers read the badge that read NSA (National Security Agency)"We are looking for a spy who is believed to have hidden in one o
Rex paused his thoughts, waiting for the man to declare everything was a joke and that they were playing a sick joke on him. However, the elderly man had a serious face on.The director's phone beeped "DNA says you are not related, so you must be a doppelganger," he said and ordered Rex to make a decision."Everything is a Joke, right?" Rex finally spoke. The man warned, "Mr Grayson, with your pretty face, men will make a meal out of you. Therefore, my advice is to sign a contract with us.Rex swallowed hard, asking the man to show him his ID. He understood he already said who he worked for but he needed to be sure.The director removed his badge and gave it to Rex."What exactly does the NSA do?" he asked."More like the CIA but we have jurisdiction in the country and way above them," the old man smiled."So if I get this job, I will not save time?"The old man smiled again, "Yes and I think we are wasting time discussing your doubts," the director said and removed a contract fro
Rex stared at her; no one said anything to him about any safe words. However, his shaking and sweating stopped instantly as he gazed back at her cold gaze.The two stared at each other for what seemed like forever.Like some sick joke, the girl smiled and handed him her briefcase, taking his.Rex let out a loud sigh, and the shaking and sweating resumed. He was not sure what had just happened.The door of the restaurant opened, and the Director walked in, his face beaming with a smile."Congratulations, Mr. Grayson, and welcome to the team," he said."Safeword… She asked for a fucking safe word," he kept mumbling."Yes, and your safe word was not to say a word," the Director reminded him.Rex stared at him back and forth; he remembered the warning not to say anything to the woman, but no one told him it was the safe word."What... would have happened if… I had said something?" He asked."She would have known you were fake and shot you," the Director smiled.Rex gasped in horror, the m
5 Years LaterFive years passed, but for Rex, it felt like an eternity, though the wounds of betrayal were still fresh, leaking of maggots.The rules at the NSA were strict; he was never to contact his family or Chelsea. He was not allowed to look them up or spy on them. If he was caught doing any of the above, he was going to be sent back to prison.It was never easy, but he pulled through it all, and after five years, he became one of the top NSA agents. He excelled in almost anything: martial arts, guns, spying, and most importantly, being rich.He managed to amass wealth that not even the NSA was aware of. They mostly gave him missions outside the country, which enabled him to build connections and make deals that he was making money on and putting into offshore accounts.Five years of saving and not touching money but investing and trusting the right people to invest the money, of which the profits were saved in offshore accounts,None of his business
Whatever you are selling, I am not buying," Sydney finally spoke, trying to shut the door in his face, but Rex quickly grabbed the door."Sydney, it's me, your brother Rex. I am alive!" Rex stated. Sydney raised her eyes, finally looking at the man, and noticed he looked just like her late brother, though he appeared well-kept, rich, or perhaps more classy.Her dead brother, who they said was attacked on his first day in prison and died.She gasped, taking one step back.Five years ago, she was shown his beaten-up body. They all saw his body, and because they could not afford a coffin, they had to cremate him, and his ashes were in the living room.Without a second thought, she ran inside, screaming. Either her mind was playing a trick on her, or someone hired the man in front of her to play a sick game on her."Sydney, wait!" Rex ran after her.Sydney ran straight for her phone, but she could not find it. Her father, who was sleeping on the couch, awoke from the screaming and asked
Breathing heavily, Sydney slammed the door behind her, the sound echoing through the house. She desperately wished that he was a fraud, an impostor, and not her real brother.There was no way her compassionate brother, who always prioritized others over himself, would accept such a ridiculous offer from the government and abandon his family."He wouldn't do that," she kept telling herself as she threw herself onto the bed and began sobbing.Meanwhile, in the living room, Rex proceeded to tell his father about the deal he had made with the government. His father remained silent, his eyes fixed on the floor.Rex grabbed his father's hand and started begging, tears streaming down his face. "I'm sorry, father. If I had known, I never would have taken that stupid test," he cried out.His father's eyes rose in a way that revealed the hidden sadness he was trying to conceal. "The good news is that you're back," the old man whispered. "That's what matters."In another room, Sydney went on